These Two Retailers the Highlights Among Straggling Earnings

Straggling earnings reports are revealing more weather-related issues for specific industries (home improvement, for example), but several retailers have been posting really good numbers.

Tiffany & Co. (TIF) soared on news of its fiscal first quarter producing global sales growth of a solid 13% to $1.0 billion. Bottom-line earnings grew a whopping 50% to $126 million, or $0.97 per diluted share—41% excluding one-time expenses—over the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Some of the surprising sales growth came from Europe, with a nine-percent comparable gain to $101 million, and from Japan, which saw sales improve 20% to $174 million.

On a constant currency basis, the Americas region produced increasing sales of nine percent and comparable store growth of eight percent to $439 million.

As a result, company management increased its earnings range for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2015 to between $4.15 and $4.25 per diluted share, up from the previous earnings range of $4.05 to $4.15 per diluted share.

The Street bid the stock nine percent, or about $8.00 a share, on the financial report.

And another higher-end retailer reported very good earnings, as well, seeing its stock move nicely higher on the news.

Management is building up the company’s inventory (currently running six percent above last year’s) in anticipation of further sales growth.

The company started a new $300-million share repurchase program in March of this year, but that really isn’t a lot for a highly liquid $12.0-billion company.

Stocks are just all over the place, like earnings, and there’s no reason to expect this action to change. But increased spending at higher-end retailers is a positive consumer trend, and Tiffany & Co. is poised for more capital gains this year.